Britain- Labour's minority government and policies Flashcards
What was the Labour majority over the Conservatives in 1929?
What about the Liberals?
Majority of 27
Liberals held 59 seats and the balance of power
How many were unemployed before the Wall Street Crash?
1.2 million
Was the Labour government of 1929 supportive of tariffs or free trade?
Free trade
What problems were there in solutions to unemployment in 1929 that were borrowing or raising taxes?
Solutions involving raising taxes or borrowing would threaten the economic strength of the pound as a currency, something which Britain was very economically reliant on due to the large quantities made from ‘invisible exports’ such as returns of investments or sales of services.
Who was the first female cabinet minister (appointed by Ramsay MacDonald)?
Margaret Bondfield
Who was the chancellor in Labour’s minority government of 1929?
Philip Snowden
Examples of Labour domestic policy between 1929 and 1931
Housing Act of 1930
- Restored subsidies for local authorities to carry out Wheatley’s Housing Act after these were reduced by the previous conservative government
- Began subsidies for slum clearance
- Passed by Arthur Greenwood
- Led to the construction of 700,000 new homes
Unemploment Ensurance Act 1930
- Restored cuts made in unemployment benefits made by the conservatives
- However by 1931the fund was in defecit due to the economic crisis, resulting in a 10% cut to these funds
Road Traffic Act 1930
- Highway codes
- Speed limits
- Crossings
- Regulation of car manufacture
What were two policies that reflected the Labour idea of more state control in the 1929-31 minority government?
Transport Bill of 1931
Agricultural Marketing Act of 1931
What reforms did the Labour minority government attempt to pass?
1931 Education bill to raise school leaving age to fifteen
